Rise of Yugoslav Partisans

The Yugoslav Partisans were the communist-led resistance movement in occupied Yugoslavia during the Second World War, led by Josip Broz Tito. After Germany and its allies invaded and carved up the country in 1941, the Partisans launched an uprising in the summer, and over time they grew into a large army that drew support from all of Yugoslavia's peoples with the idea of brotherhood and unity. They fought the Axis occupiers and rival groups such as the Chetniks and the Croatian Ustasha, and won battles such as Neretva and Sutjeska at great cost. The Allies, at first backing the Chetniks, came to support the Partisans from 1943. They liberated most of the country and set up the socialist Yugoslavia.

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